Cuttack, Feb 9
Captain Rohit Sharma roared back to form by hitting a masterful 119 and guided India to a four-wicket win over England in the second ODI at the Barabati Stadium on Sunday.
Rohit's 32nd ODI century, laced with 12 fours and seven sixes, along with Shubman Gill's 60 and handy knocks from Shreyas Iyer (44) and Axar Patel (41 not out) helped India chase down 305 with 33 balls remaining and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
This century, his second fastest in the format, marks the skipper's first time reaching triple figures in the format since his fastest ODI ton which came against Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup
'It was a great innings by Rohit Sharma. We all feel so proud of him. The kind of innings he displayed ahead of the Champions Trophy is really very impressive," IPL chief Arun Dhumal told IANS.
Rohit has been in a massive dearth of runs leading to this game having heavily struggled in the longest format. The India captain had disappointing Test series against New Zealand and in Australia, where he pulled out of the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series citing his poor form.
Ahead of the three-game fifty-over series Rohit had snapped at a reporter and backed himself to regain form.
"What kind of a question is that? This is a different format, different times. As cricketers, we know that there will be ups and downs and I have faced a lot in my career so this is nothing new to me. We know every day is a fresh day, every series is a fresh series," Rohit had said on Wednesday.
The fans will be breathing a sigh of relief in regards to Rohit's form as India get set for the 2025 Champions Trophy beginning on Feb 19. India will begin their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20.
- IANS